Taiwanese traders bullish on Subic business

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — Taiwanese investors have expressed confidence on the business outlook at the Subic Bay Freeport with the opening here last week of semi-conductor and electronics trader Yubantec, the latest Taiwanese company to locate in this free port.

“There are many facilities improvement projects now. There are road construction and repairs, drainage improvement, as well as capacity expansion of the Subic Expressway. These are all good for investors,” Dr. Ou said during the Yubantec inauguration.

“I’m confident that Yubantec will do well in such a favorable business environment,” he added.

Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) representative Michael Hsu, meanwhile, said that more companies from Taiwan will locate in the Philippines, which he described as Taiwan’s “closest neighbor.”

“I assure you, the Taiwanese are willing to come to the Philippines to invest. And we have to find enough land for our locators especially in Subic Bay,” he added.

Yubantec, which is the latest addition to the Subic Gateway park locators, will engage in importing, designing, installing and after-sales services of air-conditioners, cold storage equipment and home appliances, as well as designing and sales of semi-conductors and electronic components.

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said the 61 Taiwanese firms in Subic now comprise the third biggest number of foreign investors here. Most are engaged in manufacturing and trading.

Taiwanese firms were among the pioneer investors in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone, she added, as the Subic Gateway Park, formerly known as the Subic Bay Industrial Park, was the first industrial park to be established in Subic.

Eisma said the entry of more Taiwanese companies helps Subic drive its momentum in investment and employment generation, pointing out that the SBMA approved 77 new projects in the first six months this year, compared to 45 in the first half of 2018.

The new investments, as well as the 21 expansion projects green-lighted in the first half, are projected to create more than 3,600 additional jobs in the Subic Bay Freeport.